A Blind Heart
by Plushhedgehog
Summary: Katara can’t stop thinking about Toph, Toph can’t stop thinking about Katara. They’re both oblivious so it’s up to Aang and Sokka to bring them together. Slow burn. KataraxToph Katoph fanfiction
1. theblindbandit

Chapter 1 The Blind Bandit

A/N: This is a project for me to destress between school and work, I haven't written anything in a million years so I apologize for errors constructive comments welcome just keep in mind this is nothing too serious! I also won't have an upload schedule so I don't strain the creativity I have left. This is also a Katara x Toph plot, it's going to be a slow burn AU. It's not entirely out of the story line, I'll just be adding scenes and taking out the cut always to others and just focus on Team Avatar so I dont go crazy writing every single bit that isn't needed for this story. There is also some time skips so again, I don't go crazy writing all of this. If you're wondering what is skipped in this chapter just watch the blind bandit episode, it fills in on the fighting scenes I didn't want to write.

That being said, hope you enjoy!

"I give you.. The Blind Bandit!" The crowd roared with approval as the champion was raised from the ground. Sokka and Aang cheered with them, Katara glanced up at the contest and was shocked with the sight of the champion. A small girl, holding the champion belt, the belt was nearly bigger than her! And her eyes.. A milky cloudy green, Katara squinted trying to make out more features from her place in the stands.

"She can't really be blind can she?" Katara was shocked, suddenly unable to take her eyes off the Blind Bandit as she handed the belt to the ref.

"Who cares? Take her down!" Sokka screeched cheering on his new hero, Katara rolled her eyes at his antics, but she didn't turn away from the match this time. Aang was just as consumed with the match, it was odd he felt like he had met the girl before.. But where?

"The Boulder has his reservations about fighting a little girl.." The voice of the challenger brought the avatar back to the match, he would figure out where he knew her later.

"Scared to get your butt kicked by a kid, The Pebble?" The crowd roared with laughter, Sokka and a couple Boulder fans booing. Katara giggled a little, more interested in the match than the whole tournament before.

"The Boulder feels better." The man said flatly, crouching into a battle stance.

"Let's see if you can take it, Pebble." The Blind Bandit laughed, the man launched himself at her as they started to fight. The girl stayed still, listening, until the Boulder got close enough to strike him off balance. Aang's eyes went wide as he realized where he knew her from.

"Guys.. I think she is supposed to be my earth bending teacher."

"Really?" Katara glanced at Aang, she had to admit the girl had the skills that could rival a master.

"Boomy said I need a teacher that waits and listens, before striking. I think we were meant to meet her." The crowd went wild as the Blind Bandit threw the giant man from the ring, much to Sokka's dismay.

"And the Blind Bandit rains supreme still!" The girl had a smug grin as the ref announced her victory. "Would any of you dare take on the champ?"

"I'll do it!" Before Katara had a chance to stop him Aang had already made his way down to the field.

"Avenge the boulder Aang!" Sokka screamed, he was so excited that Katara could swear he was foaming at the mouth.. She rolled her eyes and turned her eyes back on the girl in the ring.

"Are you sure these people want to see two little girls fighting in this ring?" She taunted Aang who just sheepishly smiled. She's cocky Katara giggled again, I like her.

"Please I don't want to fight I need to talk to you." Aang tried to plead but she just rolled her eyes and shot a boulder. Aang weaved using the air around him to stay on his feet. "Please! I need to talk to you!"

"No talking!" She snapped shooting at him again, this time Aang tried to dodge accidentally hitting her with a gust of wind. With a screech she fell out of the ring, the ref's jaw drops. Katara's heart gave a loud thud, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she got back up. The crowd seemed to wake up from their shock and cheered for Aang, Sokka being amongst the loudest of them.

"A-And the challenger takes the belt?" The ref seemed just as floored as the crowd, Aang ran down to catch up with the blind earth bender but she was already sulking away.

"Wait I'm sorry I didn't mean to I just needed to talk to you!" He tried to plead with her, but she didn't even glance at him.

"Whatever it is, I don't care. Leave me alone!" With a final grunt she slammed a rock door to block Aang from following her. Sokka and Katara finally joined him from the stands, Sokka proudly carrying Aang's prizes from the winning match.

"What did she say?" Katara asked breathlessly, but the look on Aang's face was enough of an answer.

"What are we going to do?" Aang sighed as they started to head out from the arena to rest for the night.

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As the day began to start again the gang of friends started to search the streets for the blind bender they had met the night before. They had decided to start at the bending school where they had heard about the match. The boys from before were there, Katara grinned as they caught sight of them.

"Excuse me! I was wondering if you guys would be able to help us out? We're looking for the Blind Bandit." Aang tried to ask the boys politely, he tried his best.

"Why would we tell you?" They laughed in his face, Katara glared daggers into them making them sweat. They didn't want more trouble from the water bender.

"Alright alright! All we know is she shows up to fight and then disappears afterwards, no one knows where she goes I swear." Aang sighed.

"I had a vision of the same girl in a white dress, she had a flying boar with her. Could that help at all?"

"Well, the crest of the Beifong family is a flying boar.. They're a rich family that lives in town, but they don't have a daughter."

"Well thank you anyways." Aang smiled politely as the boys departed he glanced back at his friends. "Guess we know where to start looking at least." The siblings nodded as the group started out on foot to find the Beifong estate.

As they arrived at the guarded gates Sokka grimaced.

"There's no way we're getting through that.." He moaned.

"No, but we can always try the back way." Aang grinned, moving quietly and quickly through the foliage the group made it to the back.

Careful to stay out of sight Aang leaped onto the wall looking for any sign of guards, seeing none he helped the others into the garden to begin their search. It didn't take long to find her, quietly sitting by the pond.

"You can come out, I know you're there." She spoke dryly without looking back, the group slowly came out from the foliage. 'How did she know?' Katara couldn't help but wonder. "What do you want, Twinkle Toes?" She growled turning around this time, arms crossed, she looked much different than last night. Hair much neater with clean white clothes, no dirt on her pale skin, Katara's heart made a thud again.

"Hi my name is Aang I'm the avatar-"

"I don't care, what do you want?" She snapped cutting him off. Aang gulped nervously but quickly recovered.

"I am looking for an earth bending teacher, and I think it's supposed to be you." The girl turned away again.

"Not interested. Now leave, or I'll call the guards." Aang's face fell, the group felt him losing help.

"Please! I need a teacher and I know it's supposed to be you!" The girl stayed quiet for a moment as if thinking. Their hearts flew with hope.

"Guards help! I think I hear someone!" She suddenly called to the guards in a shrill almost helpless voice, the three felt panic as they bolted from the garden. The guards arrived just as they jumped safely back over the fence.

"What now?" Sokka growled once they were safely over the fence. They thought for a second, when Aang got a devious look on his face.

"I have an idea, time to play the avatar card."

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As the guards led the avatar and his friends into the Beifong house, Aang smiled smugly, 'she's going to be so mad.' They are greeted by a servant and led into a gorgeous dining room, sitting at the head of the table was a friendly enough man, his wife on the opposite end and their daughter to his left. Oddly Master Yu sat at the table too.

"Greetings Avatar and friends! My name is Lao Beifong, this is my wife, Poppy,"He gestured to the woman across from him who smiled softly. "My daughter Toph, and her earth bending teacher, Master Yu." Master Yu gave a small greeting, but Toph stayed silent. Aang and his friends bowed a greeting to him.

"Thank you for inviting us into your home sir, it is an honor. My name is Aang, and these are my friends, Sokka and Katara." Aang spoke with a smile, as him and his friends each took a seat at the table, as Katara sat next to Toph she couldn't help but smile. It was nice to finally know her name. The blind girl glared a little as Aang sat across from her, no one noticed the look but Aang who had to suppress a small laugh.

"Please, it is an honor to have you as my guests."

Dinner started nicely, conversation light and polite, Katara even managed to drag a couple of words out of Toph much to her excitement. For whatever reason she really enjoyed the earth bender's company, the feeling seemed mutual as they spoke quietly.

"Aang I must ask, how much longer do you think the war will go on?" The table went quiet as everyone's eyes turned to watch the two speak.

"Well, I plan to take on the fire lord by summer's end, however I am still looking for an earth bending teacher." Aang glanced at Toph as he spoke, who froze on the spot.

"That's fantastic! Master Yu teaches our daughter Toph, he's an excellent teacher." Lao suggested, Master Yu proudly held his high at the praise.

"Oh really? Toph must be an excellent earth bender then-" The avatar was quickly cut off by a piece of earth tipping Aang's chair to dump his face into his food. Everyone made a face, Katara and Sokka holding in laughs as Aang raised his face from the bowl, while Toph innocently took a bite of her food.

"Well," Master Yu tried to quickly change the subject to avoid anymore of the awkward silence. "Sadly due to Toph's blindness she will never advance beyond the basics." Toph's parents nodded solemnly, Sokka and Katara glanced confused at each other.

"Well I'm not too sure about that-" Again a piece of earth was kicked up under Aang's chair to cut him off, spraying everyone at the table this time. "What is your problem?" Aang shouted standing up to slam his hands on the table.

"Me? Whats your problem?" Toph snapped back, standing as well to meet the avatar's eyes.

"Alright! I think it's time we all headed to bed!"

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Katara laid in bed staring at the roof of the guest quarters she was in, she couldn't sleep. It felt weird to have a roof over her head after traveling for so long. It was also odd not hearing snoring from everyone of her camp-mates, it used to bother her but now silence felt odd. She sighed sitting up to look out the window to the garden, she could faintly see the outline of Aang and Toph. Her heart began to beat faster at the sight, 'I hope she comes with us..' the water bender thought longingly. For a moment the girl seemed to look straight at her window, her heart thumped and body froze. 'Can she see me?' She thought nervously, Toph looked away, Katara knew the girl couldn't see her but she could swear she was looking at her.

Katara laid down, feeling bad for staring now, attempting to sleep again. Time passed and she couldn't stop tossing and turning, her mind filled with the sight of the earth bender and those gorgeous milky green eyes. 'Wait.. gorgeous?'

A soft knock came at the door, Katara sat up surprised anyone was still up. "Come in." She called softly, expecting it to be Aang who walked in with news. Instead, Toph quietly came into the room making Katara's heart speed up again. "O-Oh hi, Toph." She squeaked shyly.

"Hey, I'm sorry for coming in so late. I just wanted to apologize for earlier, I was rude and didn't mean to get you covered with food." Toph spoke softly gazing down at her feet, Katara smiled.

"Don't worry about it, it was worth it to see Aang get covered too." She laughed a little, Toph's body relaxed a little laughing with Katara. "If you want to sit, I haven't been able to sleep.. I'd appreciate the company." Katara invited the smaller girl over gesturing slightly to an empty spot on the bed, her heart fluttering as she awaited a response. 'Why am I so nervous? I'm just asking her to sit..'

Toph stiffened for a second as if thinking, "I'd like that." She approached and sat near the end of the bed, Katara pulled her legs towards her to give the earth bender more room to sit.

"I saw you and Aang talking, does that mean you're coming with us?" Katara tried to sound calm but she was sure Toph caught the edge of excitement in her voice.

Toph lowered her head again. "I can't, my parents think because I am blind I can't do anything. They'd never let me leave." Katara's heart fell, the earth bender was so proud and strong in that ring, now she sounded so defeated.

"But.. That's not true. You're an amazing fighter! Who cares if you can't see? You can bend like a master already!" Katara blushed at her outburst, Toph seemed to appreciate it though she was smiling again. "Sorry.."

"It's ok Katara, it's just hard for them to understand that I just see different from them." Toph must've noticed the water benders confusion, she laughed a little. "Right forgot to tell you. I can see I just see with my feet instead, I sense the vibrations in the earth and get a mental picture in my head." Katara's eyes went wide 'So she did see me staring earlier..'

"That's amazing Toph." Toph looked down again, and Katara's heart sank a little feeling like she might've said the wrong thing. Toph, however, was just hiding her blush. The small girl quickly stood up and started heading towards the door.

"I'll let you sleep now, it was nice talking to you." As she stepped out the door she looked back for a moment. "I'll miss you guys when you leave tomorrow." She shut the door softly behind her. Katara's heart was beating out of her chest as she laid down, she shut her eyes drifting off to sleep with her head full of thoughts of the girl that was just here.

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"SOMEONE TOOK HER!" Katara shot up as a terrified screech filled the house, as she jumped to her feet to investigate Sokka came barreling in eyes wide.

"Someone's kidnapped Aang and Toph, we know where they are but we have to go, now!" Sokka explained quickly, Katara nodded grabbing her things before sprinting out the door. 'Please be ok.' Katara pleaded quietly to the spirits for her friends.

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As the terrified group sprinted into the arena, Toph and Aang came into sight making Katara feel a sense of relief. "Let them go!" Toph's father was enraged as he threw a bag at the feet of his daughter's captures, Master Yu stood in a protective stance behind them. "It's all there, now give me back my daughter!" The lead brute, the ref from the other night, grinned smugly, motioning for the other earth bending fighters to lower down the blind girl. They released her and threw her into her father's arms, who quickly tried to retreat with her, Master Yu not far behind.

"What about Aang?" Sokka demanded Katara crouching into a protective battle stance when they didn't lower him down as well.

"Well we thought about it and we decided the avatar is worth more to the fire nation." Sokka and Katara both felt their hearts drop.

"Let him go, or you'll regret it!" Katara shouted, fire burning in her eyes with protectiveness.

"Katara no! You're outnumbered just go I'll be ok!" Aang pleaded from his cage high up. Katara and Sokka growled in frustration, before an idea came to Katara. She ran to catch up with Toph who's father had a death grip on her hand.

"Toph we need your help please! You're the only one strong enough to take them on!" Katara pleaded making them stop in their tracks, Lao turning around to face the water bender.

"My daughter cannot help you! She is tiny and blind and helpless! Please. Leave us alone." As he turned to leave again Katara turned her eyes to Toph, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Toph please," Toph stayed rooted to the ground looking up at the taller girl. "For me. Please save Aang." Katara wasn't sure why the words came out of her mouth, but she hoped it was enough to convince Toph.

She pulled her arm away from her father's death grip. "Toph-?" He looked at her with a new fierce determination in her eyes. Lao cocked his head back in shock.

"I am not helpless." She growled lowly, turning back to Katara who was still holding in tears. "I will help you." Katara's heart flew with hope as Toph made her way back to the earth benders. As she approached they took a fighting stance, Sokka and Katara rushed to her sides but she quickly brushed them off. "No. They're mine." The two water tribe siblings knew better than to argue, and quickly retreat to get out of range of the battle field with Toph's father and Master Yu.

"What do you think you're doing girl?" The ref growled, but Toph met his eyes with a fiery determined gaze.

"Let my friend go, I beat you all once I can do it again!" Toph demanded, the fighters laughed and charged her. She grinned. "This is gonna be fun.."

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The avatar and his friends slowly packed up their things, preparing to fly out of town on Appa. The day had been long, and while Toph had managed to get Aang back, her parents still refused to let her come with them. Aang would need a new earth bending teacher, after all of that. Katara's heart ached a little, wishing so badly that Toph was leaving with them. 'Why is it so hard to leave without her?'

"Everyone ready? We should get moving." Sokka asked sleepily from atop the bison, Momo sleeping peacefully sleeping next to him.

"Yea this should be everything." Aang murmured softly, Katara knew he would bounce back but it was so hard to see him so down. Just as they were about to climb onto Appa's back a voice came. A familiar voice.

"Wait!" It was Toph! Aang leaped down from Appa's back and Katara resisted the urge to race to her. "My parents changed their minds I can go with you guys!"

"That's amazing Toph thank you so much!" Relief flooded all of their bodies.

"No problem, Twinkle toes." She grinned happily at her new friends. "There's just one thing, my champion belt, if you don't mind." She lifted her arm, and with a sigh Sokka dropped down the belt to her.. Where it smacked her right in the head.

"OW!"

"Sokka!"

"Sorry!"

Toph laughed it off, making Aang and Katara shed a small smile. Together they all mounted Appa, Aang at the rains, Sokka right behind with Momo and the girls leaning against their bags for a comfortable flight through the night.

"Appa, yip yip!" With a great slap of his tail the bison lifted off, Toph a little startled lurched towards Katara. Gripping her arm as her eyes went wide, Katara gave a small laugh that made Toph laugh.

"Sorry, just didn't expect that. Flying is weird" Toph started to let go of her death grip on Katara's arm but Katara quickly wrapped an arm on her shoulders.

"N-No it's ok! I got you. I don't mind." She blushed, hoping Toph wouldn't notice her nerves, or the fact that her heart was beating out of her chest. She did, but she didn't mention it, just smiling and leaning into her side. Slowly lulling to sleep as they flew through the night sky.

"Thanks, Katara."


	2. Theriver

Chapter 2. The River

A/N: I'm glad y'all like this story so far!! Like I said it won't be on an upload schedule but I promise it will continue as I feel ready to write! This chapter, and the next few, are mostly taking place in the days after Toph joins the gang, the story is going to follow the time line of the show but will have filler chapters between the chapters that follow the episodes. Anyways as always I'm very rusty with writing so any advice is appreciated, and enjoy! 3

They flew through the night and all through the next day, they needed to make up some ground from their stop in the earth kingdom. They talked as much as possible, getting to know one another, until Toph started feeling too air sick to keep talking.. Sokka teased her for it, feeling confident since poor Toph had no earth to smack him with, but Katara fixed that with a quick flick of water to Sokka's head. The boy's whine of pain cheered up the sick earth bender a bit, making her laugh, which made Katara's heart flutter for a second.

"Let's head down for the night, before Sokka gets himself in more trouble." Aang said laughing a little before bringing down the great bison. Quickly climbing off Appa they set to work getting to camp ready, most of them anyways. Toph mostly just hung out, normally it would bother the others but she was sick and still learning how to work with the others, so they shrugged it off.

"I'm going to get some fire wood, Aang want to come with me? You can find food and while we're gone Katara Toph could you set up the camp?" Everyone murmured agreement, Toph was still looking green and only half listening but she gave a small nod. Aang and Sokka ran off into the woods, Momo trailing behind, surely the three of them will behave.. Katara gave a soft sigh, starting to set up the tents and making a small ring of stones for the fire pit. Toph just sat against Appa's soft side, watching Katara absently. 'She's so graceful..' The thought crossed Toph's mind briefly before quickly shoving it away.

"Uh so.." Katara coughed getting Toph's attention. "We only have two tents, Sokka and Aang usually sleep together because I can't sleep through all their nonsense, so would you uh.. be ok sleeping with me?" Katara's heart was beating out of her chest, Toph could feel it, 'She's probably just trying to be nice.. She's too nervous.' Toph puffed a breathe making her dark hair fly out of her face for a moment. "We can get you a tent next time we're in town! Just.. for tonight." Her heart was getting louder. 'Why am I so nervous around her? She's my friend I have no reason to feel weird sharing a tent with her..' Katara thought to herself, she pushed down her nervousness. Toph smiled, friendly enough, shrugging a shoulder.

"Don't worry, I got it covered." Toph stomped her foot and a stone tent erupted from the earth, making poor Katara jump about a foot in the air from surprise. Toph laughed at the older girl's reaction, she tried to glare but her heart melted with her loud chuckles. Her nerves were calmed a little, Toph felt her relax and her own heart dropped a little. 'I wish she would've just told me she didn't want to share a tent.. but whatever.'

"I AM THE ANCIENT FOREST SPIRIT!" A gust of wind shot through the camp, along with Aang covered in leaves, with a wound up Momo riding on his head.

Sokka came crashing through the line of trees moments later, swinging branches like a crazy man. "I WILL SLAY YOU SPIRIT!" He declared bolting after the avatar, who was zooming around the camp.

"AANG SOKKA KNOCK IT OFF!" Katara shouted over the winds, hair now wild from the air benders antics and hands on her hips. Toph howled with laughter.

"Get him Sokka!" Toph encouraged, making the annoyed water bender glare daggers at her.

The boys barely acknowledged the girls, Aang was using his air bending to go from tree to tree and Sokka was wildly swinging the sticks in an attempt to make contact. Katara rolled her eyes as they all roared with laughter, she was honestly pretty amused too but she wasn't about to admit it. Sokka finally managed to land a playful blow to Aang's side, who immediately dropped to the ground writhing in the most dramatic fashion.

"I've been HIT.. World so cold.. Going dark.." The air bender wheezed reaching out dramatically to the sky, Momo copying his actions, before flopping over dead. Sokka screeched a victory noise, holding up his 'swords' as he danced over Aang's body. Katara rubbed her temples, Toph now clutching her sides with laughter. It was going to be an obnoxious night for all of them.

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Things had calmed down, dinner had been finished a bit ago, with Sokka and Aang now exhausted and snoring in their tents it was very peaceful. Katara was the only one awake, relaxing near the small fire watching the stars, or at least she thought. Toph was awake, just laying in her rock tent, watching over the camp. At least that's what she convinced herself of, her focus was mostly on Katara.

Listening to the water bender's soft heart beat, feeling every breathe she took, noticing every small movement or stretch she made. Toph couldn't help but notice every bit of her, she was just so interested in the older girl. 'What is so interesting about her?' Toph sighed. 'Maybe its just nice to finally have a friend.. Maybe this is just what having a friend is? Who knows.' Toph's thoughts went quiet as she noticed Katara start to stretch the muscles in her back, slowly getting to her feet she quietly stepped towards her own tent. Katara stalled for a second, glancing back for a moment to look at Toph's rocky sleeping quarters. Katara couldn't see her, but her heart still sped up as she stared for a moment, confusing the earth bender. 'What's making her nervous now?' She squinted her milky green eyes in confusion. The moment passed, Katara quickly padded into her tent to turn in for the night. Toph rolled over, shutting her eyes as if to shut out the thoughts she was having before falling into a deep slumber.

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"Good morning Toph!" Sokka yelled cheerily as the girl stumbled out of the earthen tent, hair a mess and sleep still in her eyes. She unhinged her jaw in a loud yawn, giving a grunt of a greeting before plopping down next to Aang.

"How was your first night away from home?" Aang asked sweetly, handing her a bowl of berries for breakfast. Another grunt and she started eating. "Sooo not to rush or anything but.. when are we gonna start earth bending?" Aang grinned widely, excitement making his whole body shake. 'How is he awake right now?' Toph thought grumpily.

"Later." The earth bender growled sleepily, absently eating her berries. Aang thought better than to push his new teacher. 'She's definitely not a morning person..' He noted mentally to not bother her too much before she was fully awake.

Toph's soft green eyes looked up a little as she noticed the absence of a certain water tribe girl. "Where's little Ms.Sunshine?" She grumbled, trying to not sound too interested.

"Oh she went to some river near by, she should be back later." Sokka shrugged, sharpening his weapons absently, making faces at Momo as he did.

"She goes every morning to practice bending, I usually go with her but I wanted to see what you had planned for our first lesson!" Aang added, Toph glared a little at the cheery tone but if the air bender noticed her annoyance he certainly didn't show it.

"Later." Again was all she said before stumbling off in the direction that a river could be heard. 'I'm not looking for her.. just want to put my feet in the water for a bit.' She convinced herself quietly. Aang shrugged it off, she said later so they'd train later.

"Want me to brush your toes buddy?" He asked turning to Appa, who gave a roar of approval and rolled onto his side to let his small friend tend to him.

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Katara was quietly floating in the water, letting the cooling liquid run over her body, the river felt healing after being in the air for so long. She let her body sink into the water a bit more, opening her eyes to watch the sun dance through the river. The water truly felt like home. She slowly bended a bubble from the water, letting it dance between her fingers for a moment before lifting herself out of the water to take in a gulp of air. Standing now she let the water drip from her hair, free from her usual braids, and gave a content breathe of fresh air. She jumped a little as she noticed Toph sitting on the bank, feet dipped into the river and eyes glued to where Katara now stood. Her cheeks had a rosey color to them. 'How well can she see into water?' Katara wondered, body relaxing after being startled by her sudden appearance.

"Good morning sleepyhead!" The gentle water bender chirped, Toph's eyes quickly dipped back down hiding her face behind her messy dark hair.

"Morning." Toph spoke flatly, Katara felt a little disappointment at her tone but tried to let it roll off her back. Swimming over silently and quickly she perched herself on a rock next to Toph, crossing her legs as she rung the water out of her hair. Toph stayed frozen, watching her but looking into the water more observant than she let on to the other girl.

"Aang said he wanted to stay here for a few days so that you two could start working on his earth bending, so do you have anything planned?" Katara prodded, hoping to get Toph to talk a little more.

"Later." She grumbled again, softer than how she spoke to Aang and Sokka but still gruff and sleepy. Katara gave a crooked smile, letting herself lean back on her hands to let the sun wash over her.

"Not a morning person?" Toph grumbled something too low for Katara to fully hear, but she got her answer. "Don't worry it'll get easier." She encouraged softly, which got her just another grumble. Katara sighed, letting silence fill the air.

"Sorry." Toph finally sighed, Katara's deep blue eyes glanced over to her. "Not used to talking to people this early.. Or ever really." She added as an after thought. Katara's eyes softened at the words, sitting up now to give Toph her full attention. "I was locked up in that house, no friends, my parents were always off somewhere.. The only time I really talked to anyone was when I was at my 'lessons' or at the ring." Toph shrugged, smiling a tough grin now. "It didn't bother me or anything. I just have to adjust now."

Katara had a feeling it did bother her but she kept the thought to herself. She placed a hand on her knee gently, squeezing softly. Toph stiffened a little at the touch, her hidden face red behind her black hair, but didn't attempt to move it away. "Well, now you have us. We'll help you get used to talking." Her gentle voice made Toph relax a little, she kept her eyes down but a grateful smile crossed her lips.

"Thanks Katara.." They sat for a minute like that, Katara's hand on Toph's knee, both their hearts soaring. It was peaceful. Until Katara, with a quick flick of her wrist bent the water to splash Toph. Not enough to soak her, but enough to annoy her.

"Katara!" Toph shouted finally awake, the water bender laughed leaping back into the water to avoid the playful slap from Toph. "You're dead!" She declared, Katara gave a gasp of surprise as Toph impulsively jumped in after her. The river was shallow enough that Toph could stand in most parts, and see fine just with a bit of fog. The two played around wrestling in the water, teasing each other, all through the morning. As they were walking back to camp, Toph's clothes now completely soaked and her hair a wet mop over her eyes, they kept laughing and teasing one another.

"You're a mess." Katara joked, Toph stuck her tongue out making the water tribe girl giggle.

"Well how was I supposed to know I was going to go swimming!"

"You jumped in on your own free will." She reminded her mildly, Toph rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but for revenge. I had to do it." Katara shook her head, Toph really was a handful.

"At least let me dry you off." Katara playfully bumped her hip against the earth benders as they stopped.

"Fine. Do your worst." Toph threw out her arms dramatically and flipped her head back, Katara held back a giggle.

Slowly she started moving her hands in gentle rounding motions, coaxing the water from the girl's clothes and dark hair. Toph could sense how close Katara's hands were and started to blush, she tried to push the thought from her mind with deep breathes, but noticing Toph's blush Katara's heart sped up making her try to work the water out faster. 'Why do I keep feeling like this?' Katara tried to ignore the feeling as she finally worked the last bit of water from Toph's clothing. As Katara lowered her hands and Toph straightened back their eyes met for a second, making Katara's heart shoot through her chest. Toph not noticing kept her eyes where they were, making Katara about melt. 'They're so gorgeous to look at- Get it together!' The water bender broke the eye contact, face hot with embarrassment.

"There, all dry." Katara tried to be cheerful, Toph felt the tightness in her voice but didn't question it. They started heading to camp again, this time in embarrassed silence. 'I wonder what her hands would feel like..' Toph shook her head gulping nervously she picked up the pace. 'Having friends is weird.. not bad. But definitely weird.' The earth bender concluded in her mind, the nervousness was just because she didn't have friends before its a new feeling natural to feel anxious.

They finally walked into the camp, Aang was finishing up cleaning Appa's toes when they arrived, Sokka and Momo napping together in the tent. Katara quickly went to her tent to change into her clothes for the day, Toph waited a moment before turning her attention away from Katara and instead onto Aang.

"Ready to learn some earth bending twinkle toes?" She taunted the air bender, who excitedly grinned and jumped off the great bison to meet with his new master. Toph grinned excited herself to start, 'Earth bending will finally take my mind off Katara,'


	3. Escape

A/N: Sorry updates are so slow the world is in shambles and I've had to rewrite this chapter about 4 times because I've just been unhappy with my writing. But! A finished product is better than a perfect one and as I get better at writing I will go back in chapters to fix the things I don't like. So sorry if my writing isn't the best but thanks for reading and encouraging me to keep going. I appreciate it a lot. :) And I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Toph and Aang worked through the day, Toph was a relentless and fast paced teacher making Aang have to work twice as hard as when Katara taught him. She taunted him and jabbed at him, he was starting to get irritated. With all the work they did, Aang still couldn't even move a pebble.

"You know for the avatar, you really suck at this." Toph cackled, making Aang grit his teeth. In his frustration he shot a gust of air, knocking Toph off her balance for a moment.

"Oh man Toph I'm sorry-" A pillar of rock knocked him in the jaw cutting off his words. Rubbing the spot tenderly he saw Toph jump easily to her feet, grinning crookedly at him.

"Now we're even, Twinkle Toes." Aang scowled a little but he couldn't help but feel closer to the earth bender. "That's enough training for the day, we'll try again tomorrow." The earth bender flopped over, stretching out in the grass. Aang smiled a goofy grin, dropping down beside the shorter girl letting his tired body relax into the grass.

"Earth bending is harder than I thought it would be.. Was it this hard for you to learn?" Toph shrugged, linking her hands behind her head.

"Not really, but it makes sense you would struggle." Aang shot her a questioning look.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you were born an air bender right? Air is all about going with the flow, letting the currents take you. The same instinct comes with water bending." Toph absently started to make a couple of pebbles circle in her hand. "Earth is more.. something you feel deep in your chest." She crushed the pebbles into a single stone, rolling it over between her fingers. "It's stubborn and can't be easily molded. Instead of going with the currents, you have to become the current."

Aang nodded quietly, she made a lot of sense. "When you learned earth bending how did it feel?"

Toph paused, taking a breath. "Freeing. I felt like something finally understood how I felt and I finally felt a part of the world."

The friends fell silent, letting the winds roll over them as they relaxed together. Slowly the sun crawled down behind the mountains day turning into night.

"Aang! Toph! Are you guys almost done? Katara said we can't have dinner without you guys." Sokka's whines roused the two from their peaceful state, Aang laughed a little and Toph rolled her eyes.

"We're coming, Sokka!" Aang called, gliding to his feet he reached a hand out to help Toph up. The earth bender took his hand and with a grunt of effort got to her feet.

"Don't get your panties in a twist we're coming we're coming." Sokka rolled his eyes, his stomach giving a dramatic growl.

"I'm hungry and you guys were taking forever!" Their walk back was filled with Sokka's dramatic whining with Toph playfully taunting and teasing him. Arriving back to their small camp the smell of Katara's cooking filled the air, making everyone's stomach growl just as loudly as Sokka's.

"There you two are! How was training?" Katara addressed them both, but Aang could see her eyes were only drawn to Toph. He quirked an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

"He was fine, he'll do better tomorrow." The earth bender said simply, plopping herself close to the fire Katara handed her a bowl of stew as Sokka ravenously started eating his own bowl.

"Earth bending is hard." Aang sighed, collapsing onto the ground with Sokka. Katara handed him a bowl of rice and he smiled gratefully at her.

"I believe in you, you're going to be an amazing earth bender." Katara softly encouraged, finally settling down with her own food next to Toph. Their shoulders touched a little, making Toph tense a little but she didn't move. The others ate in silence as Aang launched into telling them all about his earth bending lesson. Toph would lightly respond with a laugh or two when Aang whined about how tough of a teacher she was but mostly just enjoyed her dinner and Katara's warm presence to her side.

"Alright I'm gonna get to bed before my arms fall off, night guys." Aang stood up with a stretch, heading over to his own tent.

"Night Aang!" Katara chirped. Sokka grumbled something sleepily following Aang to the tent, making Katara roll her eyes. "Night to you too Sokka." As the boys disappeared Toph and Katara went quiet. It felt odd having their bodies so close when there was so much room but neither wanted to move. 'It is getting colder.. It's just nice having someone close.' Toph decided to push away any thoughts beyond wanting the water bender closer for warmth.

"So how did he do?" Katara prodded, the earth bender gave a shrug.

"He couldn't move anything today, but he'll get there. I believe in him." Katara smiled at the shorter girl, softened by her belief in the avatar. "Don't tell him I said that." She warned with an edge to her voice making Katara giggle.

"Don't worry I won't. It'll be good for him to struggle with an element for once.." She muttered bitterly at the end, Toph laughed at the comment surprised that Katara even could be bitter about anything.

"Oh I'll make him struggle then, just for you." Katara grinned, blushing a little at the comment.

The two went quiet, enjoying each other's presence as the wind blew. Toph shivered a little slowly letting her head lean over onto Katara's shoulder, shutting her milky green eyes as her dark hair messily fell in her face. Katara couldn't help but stare tensing a little as the earth bender touched her, not from disliking the feeling no nothing like that she actually loved the feeling of her so close.. 'Get it together Katara. What's wrong with you?' She mentally scolded herself, scrunching her eyes shut as she tried to calm her racing heart. Toph thought about questioning her racing heart beat but thought better of it, just wanting to enjoy the closeness of the warm water bender. Taking in her scent with deep soft breaths she couldn't help but let her mind wander. 'She smells like rain..'

Toph shot up, eyes wide now as she gripped the ground making Katara jump. "Something's coming." Toph's voice was nervous, not fearful, just uncertain.

"What is it?" Katara pressed, scrambling to her feet.

"I don't know, it's some kind of machine." Katara nodded running into the boys tent, shouting at them to get up as Toph quickly threw some dirt over the fire.

"Huh? What's going on?" Sokka grumbled as he stepped out of the tent, a tired eye Aang close behind. Katara almost had the tent down by the time Toph answered.

"Somethings coming, we have to go. Now." Everyone was awake now, packing everything amp quickly loading it onto Appa. Within minutes they were airborne. Katara looked over the side catching sight of the machine, a fire nation symbol was on the front.

"How did they find us?" Sokka growled catching sight of the metal tank.

"Who knows but we have to move fast." Katara spoke firmly, Aang nodded, whipping the reins softly.

"Appa buddy, we gotta stay out of sight, think you can?" Appa gave a grunt of acknowledgement flying higher into the sky behind the clouds, with a bit of effort he sped up.

"We should be ok.." Aang pet Appa in a soft thank you, and Katara nodded glancing back at the others. Sokka was back to sleep, Toph curled up a little knees tucked to her chest.

"Are you ok to stay up and fly?" Katara's question was directed towards Aang but her eyes stayed on Toph, worried for her air sickness.

"Yea I got some sleep before we had to go, you rest. I'll get you if I need you." Aang glanced back at Katara, he noticed how she looked at the earth bender and couldn't help but wonder.. 'No. That's not important right now.' He looked back around keeping his eyes on the sky for any signs of trouble.

Katara turned back around giving Aang a small hug before crawling towards Toph and her snoring brother. "You feeling ok, Toph?" She cooed softly, putting a hand onto her shoulder as she settled in closely to the earth bender.

"Yea, I think I'm thinking about that tank too much to feel air sick yet." Katara nodded, not knowing that Toph was only half telling the truth, the tank bothered her but more than anything a certain water bender was on her mind..

The water tribe girl sighed, relieved that air sickness wasn't going to be a problem tonight. Exhaustion clawed at her body and she let herself lean against Toph, tucking her face comfortably into the earth bender's neck crook letting her arms wrap softly around her waist. Toph's heart was going crazy as the taller girl wrapped herself around her, instinctively putting a hand on the small of her back.

"I'm so tired.. is it ok if I lay here?" Katara mumbled softly, deep blue eyes slowly shutting. Toph felt like she couldn't speak, couldn't move, her heart was beating out of her chest, all she could do was nod a small yes. Soon her soft snores were all she could hear, the smell of rain filling her nose all she could focus on was the water tribe girl.

Aang could see them out of the corner of his eye, he felt a small pain in his heart but it was soon replaced with joy. 'I hope they figure it out.' He thought to himself, turning back to the sky, giving an exhausted sigh. 'This is going to be a long night..'


End file.
